Kalamazoo completes sweep of Jr. Blues on Saturday
North Division Quarter-final Game #2
Springfield Jr. Blues 0 @ Kalamazoo Jr.K-Wings 6 (Kalamazoo wins series, 2-0)
The Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings had the upper hand on the Springfield Blues during the regular season, winning 7 of the 8 contests they played. This trend continued into the playoffs, as Kalamazoo won the first meeting by the score of 7-1 and completed the sweep on Saturday with a 6-0 victory. Just :50 seconds into the contest, Kody Polin was able to capitalize on the rebound to give the K-Wings a 1-0 lead. The goals did not stop coming for the Jr. K-Wings. This time, Mac McDonnell was able to score his 3rd goal of the playoffs.Kalamazoo’s first period scoring barrage was not done yet. At 17:53, Kalamazoo was on the power play, and they took advantage of it. Mike Fazio fired on top shelf from the middle of the circle on Matt Leon’s left to make it a 3-0 lead for Kalamazoo. Fazio, Springfield’s former captain, ended Leon’s day with that score, as he was immediately replaced by Ryan Kellenberger. There was a new goalie, and it was a new period, but neither of those things could slow down the Jr. K-Wings. Just 1:40 into the second period, the Jr. K-Wings extended their lead to 4-0 with a power play goal by Taylor Burden. Kalamazoo would score one more time in the second, and it would, again, come off the stick of McDonnell. In a third period, the Jr. K-Wings would put the proverbial nail in the coffin with a goal by Luc Boby (1st) at 11:41 to give the Jr. K-Wings the insurmountable 6-0 lead. K-Wings goaltender Marcus Due-Boje made 27 saves in the shutout. Boxscore
South Division Semi-Final Game #2
Corpus Christi IceRays 3 @ Amarillo Bulls 6 (Best of five series tied 1-1)
The Corpus Christi IceRays scored three goals in the third period to mount a comeback, however the Amarillo Bulls picked up four goals in the first and added two more in the final 40 minutes of play en route to a 6-3 victory inside the Amarillo Civic Center to even the series up at one game apiece. Amarillo’s first goal came at 6:52 of the first period as Brady Ferguson scooped up a rebound after a Ben Myers save and tapped in his first of the playoffs. Ferguson struck again 21 seconds later as he back-handed a shot by Myers for his second of the night and second of the playoffs as Amarillo quickly moved out to a 2-0 lead. Amarillo converted on the power-play with 4:51 left to go in the as Hampus Gustafsson wristed a shot over the shoulder of Myers and the Bulls moved out to a 3-0 advantage. In the second period the Bulls took a 4-0 lead while on the power-play. Gage Christianson fired a shot from the goal line to the left of Ben Myers that hit a body in front and found the back of the net. In the third period Corpus Christi started a comeback that began with a Perry D’Arrisso goal as he buried a rebound attempt to put the IceRays on the board just 3:22 into the third. Dan McNamara answered back for the Bulls with a wrister from the right wing circle beating Ben Myers over his left shoulder and Amarillo moved back out to a four goal lead at 5-1 with 15:08 left in the game. The IceRays responded with two straight goals, both by AJ Jarosz. The Bulls tacked on a power-play goal late in regulation courtesy of TJ Sherman and picked up the win to even the series 1-1. Boxscore
South Division Semi-Final Game #1
Texas Tornado 2 @ Topeka RoadRunners 1 (Texas leads best of five series, 1-0)
Despite being outshot 36-15, the Texas Tornado got a Robertson Cup type performance from goaltender Hunter Leisner as they took Game 1 of their South Semi-Final in Topeka with a 2-1 win. Texas was outshot 7-1 in the 1st period by the RoadRunners, but offense was hard to come by for both teams. In the 2nd period, Texas briefly took a 1-0 lead as Max Shuart was awarded a penalty shot after being dragged down from behind on the breakaway. Shuart was able to beat Spencer Viele over the glove side for a 1-0 lead. The lead would not lost long however, as just :36 seconds later as blast from the point was redirected by Topeka’s Tyler Andrew in front past Leisner to tie the game at 1-1 at the end of two periods. Texas took the lead back for good early in the 3rd period as some hard work behind the Topeka net by Jason Eddy got the puck loose and out front to a streaking CJ Reuschlein, who smashed home a one-timer past Viele for a 2-1 lead. The rest of the way, the Tornado were backstopped by Leisner, who made 35 saves on the night. Boxscore
